On Thursday, Nov. 2, The (remaining) Beatles gave fans one final gift: a bittersweet farewell duet between Paul McCartney and John Lennon.
The track, “Now and Then,” has been worked on by various Beatles since 1977, when Lennon recorded the original demo (then named “I Don’t Want to Lose You.”) Unbeknownst to him, he was writing his own goodbye to both his bandmates and fans.
As the band edited the song over many years, an originally simple tune was transformed into an intricate patchwork quilt of Lennon’s ’70s recording, tracks from 1995 and 2020, and reused harmonies from past songs.
The song is somewhat of a technological feat for the music industry. To isolate and restore Lennon’s vocals that were intertwined with piano and humming, the Beatles had to use AI technology, something that’s yet to be widely adopted by musicians. That same technology, Peter Jackson’s software MAL (Machine Assisted Learning), was first used in a Beatles documentary, “Get Back” to restore both video and audio.
The MAL software was imperative to the song’s development, as struggles with blending new and old sounds together proved difficult. With this advanced technology, Jackson and The Beatles were able to separate Lennon’s singing from the demo instrumentals, allowing them to re-record new parts while still using the original vocals.
Restoring “Now and Then” was such a technical challenge that the song was nearly trashed many times, and was a source of contention between the Beatles. But that’s what makes the song so powerful; it’s a peaceful ballad created under not-so-peaceful conditions, one that ultimately brought closure not only to fans, but for the bandmates themselves.
Instead of the upbeat bops many fans are accustomed to, The Beatles delivered a tear-jerking emotional tune as their final song. The slow, moody feel leans towards earlier songs like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “In My Life,” complementing McCartney’s older voice.
The lyrics themselves depict a final dialogue between McCartney and Lennon, an emotionally-charged farewell to the band that defined their lives. Lennon’s old vocals are overlaid with McCartney’s newer ones, creating a beautifully understated duet.
They sing together, “Now and then / I miss you / Oh, now and then / I want you to be there for me.” These lyrics give fans insight into the connection between McCartney and Lennon, during life and after. They grew together for a significant portion of their lives, and now being without one another, are left grieving the community the band gave them.
I deeply connected with these heartfelt lyrics, as my late grandpa was a Beatles fan (whose favorite song was, naturally, “Hey Jude”). Hearing a Beatles song that my grandpa never got to seemed like an outrageous idea until now, and now that it’s possible, I’m not sure how to feel about it. The release of “Now and Then” has helped me feel more connected to him, but left me grieving the chance to see his reaction to the last Beatles song.
The original generation of Beatles fans, the ones who grew up along with them, raised new generations of fans still able to appreciate the music. To deliver a final song that can connect new fans with old, living with the dead, truly demonstrates how powerful The Beatles will always be.
